Financial Times: Do not <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b432c83c-a82a-11db-b448-0000779e2340.html> rely on Russia, Romania's leader tells EU
By Christopher Condon and Stefan Wagstyl in Bucharest Published: January 20 2007 02:00 | Last updated: January 20 2007 02:00 The European Union must reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas by cutting energy consumption and developing alternative sources of supply, saysTraian Basescu, the Romanian president. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Basescu urged the EU to take action to make itself less vulnerable to Russian political pressure or to events such as Moscow's decision to cut gas supplies last year in a dispute with Ukraine and its move to interrupt oil shipments this year in a row with Belarus. Mr Basescu said: "In the long run having a single energy supplier is against the European concept of market economy. We have to have competition. Even if this requires expensive investment we need to create conditions for competition, because it is not only increasing competition but creating freedom for our decisions." The president expressed strong support for the planned Nabucco pipeline for bringing gas from the Caspian Sea to central Europe via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria. He also called for a common energy policy. "When a European country is in difficulty all countries in the EU will be in a difficult position. For this reason we promote very much the idea having a single energy policy." Mr Basescu, a former oil tanker captain who was mayor of Bucharest until he triumphed in presidential elections in late 2004, spoke confidently in English and Romanian on subjects ranging from global energy to domestic coalition politics. An outspoken politician, he rarely pulled his punches, although he declined to repeat recent remarks where he compared Gazprom with the Red Army. "Let's forget that in this interview," he said with a smile. Mr Basescu takes pride in Romania's entry into the EU, which it joined with neighbouring Bulgaria on January 1. In the interview last week in his presidential palace, he said: "Now Romanians feel that they have got out of the grey area. They feel they are part of the western world." He dismissed fears, voiced in Brussels, that Bucharest might now relax in its drive to complete reforms, including moves to fight corruption. "In Romania, politicians in power realise that we have only finished one stage and we have another stage that is sometimes more difficult. I assure you that both I and the government are determined to continue the process of modernising Romania." Mr Basescu also gave short shrift to suggestions the country would be hampered by the persistent tensions between himself and Calin Tariceanu, the prime minister, and their respective parties, which form the governing coalition. However, he said it was his duty to make discontent public and he repeated previous calls for early parliamentary elections - polls in which he calculates his Democratic party could make gains. Mr Basescu responded to claims voiced in Brussels that its EU accession had brought a big force of right-wing politicians into European politics, with the nationalist Greater Romania party taking up its seats in the European parliament. The president said extremist parties were no stronger in Romania than elsewhere in the EU and had lost support in the past five years because of economic progress and rising living standards. <http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/copyright> Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007 ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix)
